Building a strong recall in your dog is not just a matter of convenience; it’s a crucial life skill. Whether you’re at the park, in your garden, or even in the house, a reliable “come when called” cue can ensure your dog’s safety and strengthen the bond between you.
Read my top 10 tips below!
1. Choose the Right Location:
Start training in a quiet and familiar environment to minimise distractions. At home is usually the best place to get started. Avoid training in places that your dog finds really exciting or where they’ve previously rehearsed running away from you. This sets you and your dog up for success, avoiding frustration and mistakes.
2. Positive Reinforcement:
Positive reinforcement means that we are giving something to the dog that increases the likelihood of the dog doing the behaviour in the future. Think of this as your recall bank account. Whenever your dog has a wonderful experience for coming when called we are adding funds to the account making it more valuable to your dog.
3. Use Management:
Management strategies are things you can do to reduce the likelihood or make it impossible for your dog to rehearse unwanted behaviours – in this case preventing them from having opportunities to blow off their recall. Just as the recall bank balance can go up, it can go back down again. If your dog has a good old time blowing you off, then that can mean a big withdrawal from the account! That is why we need to avoid places with too many distractions or allowing our dog off leash before they are fully trained. You can use a long line to practice your recalls so that you can prevent those mishaps.
4. Use a Distinctive Cue:
Pick a cue that you’d like to use for your recall. This should be something distinctive and something you don’t use all the time. I usually don’t recommend using your dog’s name as we tend to overuse it in everyday life and it doesn’t necessarily mean to your dog that they need to come to you.
5. Avoid Negative Associations:
Never use the recall cue to scold your dog or in situations where they might associate it with a negative experience. The goal is to make coming to you positive and fun.
6. Let Them Go Again
Recall your dog, reward and then release them back to what they were doing before you called them. This way they know that after they come back, their fun can continue. Lots of owners accidentally train their dog’s recall to mean we’re going home or you’re going back on leash – unintentionally punishing the behaviour!
7. Keep Your Sessions Short and Frequent:
Keep training sessions short and fun to maintain your dog’s interest. Frequent, brief sessions are more effective than long, tiresome ones. Aim to do 3-5 sessions per day – each session need only be 3 minutes long.
8. Use High-Value Rewards:
Find treats that your dog absolutely loves and use them exclusively for recall training. This makes the reward more enticing! Also, think about what your dog REALLY loves to do. It may not simply be getting the treat handed to them. Experiment with animating the food in different ways – like getting them to catch or throw it away so they have to chase after it. Your dog might also enjoy things like an interactive game of tug with you. Adapt your training to suit your individual dog!
9. Play Recall Games:
There are lots of games you and your dog can play together to reinforce their recall. See some of the videos below for inspiration!
Hide & Seek
Funder
Catch Me If You Can
Elastic Recalls
10. Recall, Rave, Repeat: Give It Lots of Repetition!
Most people severely underestimate how long it takes to train a solid recall. To
give an approximation, aim for 10,000 successful repetitions per location. And no that is not a typo – TEN THOUSAND repetitions per location. That means 10,000 at home, around your estate, at the park, at the beach, in a forest, in an urban environment, suburban etc etc. AND if your dog rehearses running away or ignoring their recall in a location, you should add on another 1,000 repetitions to that count.
Conclusion:
Training your dog to come when called is an investment that will pay out dividends in the future. It means you can keep your dog safe, it will strengthen your bond and means they will get to have lots more freedom to exercise and do doggy things. Acknowledge the small wins and the baby steps you take on your journey to your ultimate goal. Most importantly, have fun!!